ON STAGE: Local troupe takes a whack at Lizzie Borden

Sunday

Oct 8, 2017 at 11:01 AMOct 8, 2017 at 11:26 AM

NORWELL - It’s been 125 years since Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother were hacked to death – and we can’t let it go.

She was acquitted of the ax murders that took place in Fall River in 1892. But it’s a crime that refuses to go away, creating a long fascination with writers for the stage, page and screen, including these three most recent entries: the book, “See What I’ve Done,” by Sarah Schmidt; the movie starring Chloe Sevigny; and a stage drama, “Lizzie of Fall River,” co-written and directed by South Shore playwright Steve Dooner.

Whether Lizzie really “took an ax and gave her mother 40 whacks, then turned and gave her father 41,” we’ll never know for sure. Lizzie, a demure 32-year-old Sunday school teacher, was tried and acquitted – in fewer than 90 minutes – and the case remains unsolved.

Dooner’s play, with performances Oct. 13-29 at the Company Theater in Norwell, debuted initially at the same venue in 1999. It was a hit; 4,000 people saw it. For the revival, Dooner said he expanded a few characters and added details and updates. “It’s a richer play and gives my actors more to work with,” Dooner said.

A Weymouth resident and English professor at Quincy College, Dooner said it is the mystery and legend that pique his interest.

“Did she or didn’t she do it? The town was split. For me, I wanted that mysterious quality brought out, the ambiguity and complexity. Lizzie is not your ordinary heroine,” he said.

Dooner called Lizzie’s life after the “Trial of the Century” fascinating. “She was shunned for the remaining 30 years of her life, living in a house on top of a hill,” he said. “She threw parties for actors and artists and never had another psychotic break. If she did do it, she lived rather strongly, proudly and defiantly.”

As much as the play is Lizzie’s story, it provides social commentary on late 19th century issues such as class, domestic violence, family and faith – enduring themes that speak to us today. “It’s as much about the past as it is the present. It’s so fertile.” Dooner said.

Presenting this salacious but compelling tale are local actors Brittany Rolfs of Milton as Lizzie; Doug Marsden of Weymouth and Bonnie Gardner of Rockland as Lizzie’s ill-fated parents. In smaller roles are Christina Closs of Merrimack, N.H., Danny Bolton of Braintree, Jack Sinnott of Jamaica Plain, Chris Lee Bailey of Plymouth, Gerry Bova of Sandwich, Christa Dunn of Weymouth, Christopher March of Quincy, Jessica Kent of Middleboro and Christian Irving of Kingston.

In a quest for authenticity, Dooner took the cast on a field trip to visit the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum in Fall River. It was full immersion into Lizzie lore. They even shot photographs in costume outside the home – the actual scene of the crime.

During a recent rehearsal, the cast was working to perfect the late 19th-century cadence and distinct language. The scene under way was the tense inquest. Prosecutor Hosea Knowlton (Bolton) and Judge Josiah Blaisdell (Sinnott) pepper a perfectly poised Lizzie (Rolfs) with questions. “You believe that I did this,” she answers, demurely.

The scene ends. “Let’s go again,” Dooner says. “I want the audience to hang on every word. I need the tension to cut straight through.”

The second run-through begins. “Relax, don’t force it,” Dooner tells Sinnott, who’s struggling to conceal his New York accent. “Your voice is deep and beautiful.”

Throughout the rehearsal, Dooner calls on his cast of 12 “to push the intensity further.” But the night isn’t without moments of levity. “The Portuguese Guy was too pathetic tonight,” Dooner tells actor Gerry Bova, laughing, causing the rest of the troupe to crack up, too.

Dooner’s script, which he first co-wrote with local author Marc Songini (“Boston Mob”), includes trial transcripts, court testimony, letters and news reports. “We let the voice of Lizzie come to us,” Dooner said.

And when Dooner first heard Rolfs read for the part, he said it was love at first listen.

“She read those lines in such a way that the entire room felt her connection to them,” he said. “She brought the character to life with conviction and strength. The minute I heard her voice, it was so resonate. I got exactly the right Lizzie.”

Rolfs’s credits include “Oliver!” and “The Miracle Worker” at the Wheelock Family Theater and “The Marvelous Wonderettes” at Stoneham Theater. She’s a 2009 graduate of Milton High School and a member of Actors’ Equity, the labor union representing American actors. “Lizzie of Fall River” is her first production for The Company Theater.

“It’s taking her to very dark places,” Dooner said, laughing.

As if kismet, the play opens for its three-week run on Friday the 13th.

“For theater people, that’s an extraordinary thing,” he said. “It’s sheer luck and adds to the atmosphere. We’re trying to get into gothic New England and the 13th just helps unlock the door a little more easily.”

Dana Barbuto may be reached at dbarbuto@ledger.com or follow her on Twitter @dbarbuto_Ledger.